Raven Queen
by Brwn-eyed-babe
Summary: Raven Queen is all about Winter Raven's life before and after she has met her "enemy", Claidi. New and old characters are re-introduced in this story, by Winter. Check it out!
1. Default Chapter

Note: This story that I have thought up and written is a branch off the story The Claidi Journals: Wolf Queen. It displays ideas and action that actually happened in the story written by Tanith Lee, only in this version it is through the eyes of Winter Raven, or Claidis Star. This story is rated PG-13.

Chapter One

This Book

I didn't want this book.

I received it for my seventeenth birthday, but it was definitely something I didn't expect to use. I just stalked up to my room and threw it onto my vanity.   
  
A few ravens fussed.  
  
I didn't, don't, want to write in this book, but it seems like a shame to waste it. My enemy writes in a book, journal as my mother likes to call it. Perhaps whoever you are, you think it is her writing in this book, but it's me. Claidis Star of Raven Tower. Although me having that name seems quite pointless, she has ruined everything with that name. The man that I have grown up knowing his name, is now never to be mine. Argul. Sweet, strong, and handsome Argul, and true son of Ustareth. He was to be my groom, if it wasn't for her.  
  
It doesn't matter now, I don't want any of it anymore. I much prefer my new name, Winter Raven, although my mother despises it.   
  
As the story goes, My mother, Twilight Star, was at The House and was a princess. As a child she fell in love with a slave named Fengrey. Fengrey, my father, had also fallen for her in return. This was illegal in The House, to have relations with a slave when you were of royalty blood. Having a baby was also illegal in the house unless you have permission, this had become a large problem when my parents were having me. The House told my mother that she could have her child, but when it was born it would be taken away and would become a slave, for life. Twilight not wanting this for me, begged for her mother's help. Her mother is Jizania Tiger.   
  
On the day I was born, a slave child was also being born, at that moment Jizania came upon the solution to my parents problem.  
  
Slaves counted for nothing, they never had, Fengrey was the only slave that ever mattered. Jizania took the slave woman's child and gave it to my mother and told her to pretend that the child was hers, and to beg them to let her keep it. When they took the slave child from my mother's arms they gave it to Princess Shimra, and she gave it to her ghastly daughter, Jade Leaf, to work as a maid. They all thought the slave child was me, but I was safe with Jizania. Later my grandmother gave me to Fengrey and Twilight. They fled The House and came here. That's how my life has been.   
  
When I was sixteen, my previous birth year, I made a trip to Wolf Tower to see my enemy for the first time. The moment I set my eyes on her a passionate hatred flowed through my veins. I watched her destroy the Law, and I was right there when she flew elegantly into my Argul's powerful arms.   
  
Ugh.  
  
I wouldn't have done it if she had been pretending to be someone else. In fact, I would probably be cheering her on. But she destroyed my life.  
  
What did I do? This is a question you may be asking yourself. Well, I'll tell you.   
  
I disguised myself to look like a member of the Hulta, one of the girls that went to the pool with the bride. I did this so I would be with her. Claidi. Ugh. In fact, it was my idea alone to go to that certain pool. I cleverly tricked a Hulta child named Dagger into finding the pool, for I knew that she would fall for my plan. Then, when she came back from doing the "task" I told her to pursue, she told me all about the pool in the forest. It was my clever idea to tell Dagger that the pool would be the absolute best place for the bride to go before her wedding. And so it was, for me at least. I sent a raven, that seemed very eager to become a messenger, to two of my favorite henchmen, Hrald and Yazkool. They flew two mushroom balloons into the forest and caught Claidi. The other balloon that was there was sent for me, and safely took me back to my tower, Raven Tower.   
  
There I wrote a very long letter to Venarion about Claidi. Venarion was Ustareth's first son, but she left him at The Rise and went to join the Hulta where she fell in love and had Argul. The plan was that I would marry Argul and Cladi would marry Venn, but now that she has fallen for Argul I need to get her to Venn so she will fall for him instead. Anyway the sent the letter to Venn. As you may already know, my kind stranger, the letter was all about how terrible my 'sister' was and how eager she was to visit The Rise. The Rise is the place where Venarion's palace is.  
  
Haha. My sister. If only she knew what she really was.  
  
Nothing.  
  
I will stop writing now. It seems like a waste to stop writing in this book. It's all I have now. You are all I have.  
  
And you are the only one who knows the truth.  
  
I will sign my name now so you will always know who I am, unless someone decides to mess with this diary. If that happens I will never write in it again, and it's pages will lay blank forever until they yellow and decay.  
  
Claidis Star


	2. Me

Chapter Two  
  
Me  
  
Winter, that's my new name. My true name. Well, until I can find another that my mother finds worthy.  
  
She's crazy, my mother is. She believe that when we first meet Claidi, which she hints is soon, we are kind and are easy on her when we tell her the truth.   
  
She has ruined my life!  
  
I wonder how many times I will have to write or say that until she understands.   
  
Hrald, Yazkool, and Claidi have been traveling for the past week. I wonder when I will receive word from them. All I have gotten so far, is a very brief letter from Hrald stating: We have her.   
  
I sent the letter to Venarion today, but I had trouble figuring out what to sign. So I decided to sign it We. Maybe she will think it was they're doing. Maybe Claidi will think they were the ones who took her away from her "love". Perhaps Wolf Tower deserves it. Of course they do.  
  
I guess I should probably explain the tension between Wolf Tower and Raven Tower. I don't know much about it, but what I can tell you is that all the towers ( Wolf, Raven, Tiger, and Boar) had this war. Wolf Tower came on top as the powerhouse. Everyone was suffering major damaged, but none were as severe as Raven Tower. It was destroyed, and ever since the people of Raven tower have always resented the Wolf Tower. Somehow in the end we moved up north and rebuilt our beloved tower, and that is where we are today.  
  
Yes. I was clever to write We.  
  
Yesterday Mummy called me Claidissa, my pet name, that is if my name was still Claidis. It's not. My name is Winter Raven. Anyway, when she called me that a shiver ran up my spine and affected my brain for the rest of the day. I started to speak in a different language that I didn't even know I could speak. Probably a language from my tower. It sounded a little like a raven. Maybe it was just my imagination. Yes, it probably never happened.  
  
I've been starting to get these strange shocks, different and unusual things that have been happening to me. Last night I had a dream, but it wasn't. People say dreams feel real, but never are. This dream felt more than real. I was in a large room, but it was in the sky. I was wearing all white, a large white gown. A handsome man, nineteen maybe, starts whispering to me. He said a lot of things, but it looked as though he was just mouthing the words. Only one word came out of his beautiful lips, Jump.   
  
Then, I woke up.  
  
A strange dream, really.   
  
Today is the second week mark of Yaz, Hrald, and Claidi's traveling. Yaz and Hrald sent me another brief letter that stated: One more week. He sent it with that raven that I have been using to send letters with recently. The same one that I found by the pool. He is utterly beautiful, not like any other raven I have ever seen. He may not even be all raven, but I know he has some raven in him. He has pale blue eyes that remind me of a spring. A forest spring with trees and rocks and little forest creatures sipping it's sweet nectar. He black, naturally, but not all black. He has these beautiful white and gray speckles all over his body, like paint being flicked off of a brush, and the tips of each of his feathers are blue. Just the tips, and it's not just blue. It reminds me of his eyes. Pale, and beautiful. His skin is the same color only slightly grayer. Out of all of these things that make him remarkable he also has something that no raven has. A black beak with white, gray, and pale pale blue specks. He's so beautiful. I have decided to keep him, not like I have much of a choice. He continues to follow me around. I have named him Yurgi.   
  
Yurgi also gets alone with my other pet. My panther. He's not really a panther, though. He's a clockwork doll. He is truly remarkable as well. He talks in every language, and is like having a large number of wise men with you at all times. He knows everything. His name is Toma.  
  
I was right.  
  
I asked Toma, and he says that the language I was speaking was a language of the Raven Tower. He also said that I may be the only one left who knows this language.  
  
I was speaking a dead language.  
  
How would I know it? 


	3. Rise Arrival

Chapter Three  
  
Rise Arrival  
  
Today they arrived.   
  
I got word just this morning. I was sleeping in my room, when my window flew open and Yurgi leapt onto my bed. He was so elegant, and I marveled at him for a moment before I opened the letter. This note was a bit longer, but really said nothing important other than the fact that they had arrived at the Rise.   
  
I leapt up and screamed, a scream of pure joy.  
  
I was dancing around and having the time of my life when I received a very sick feeling in my stomach. I felt as if I was being watched. I turned around and came upon the reason for my sudden sickness, a ghostly white owl was sitting on my windowsill. His warm gray eyes were comforting and his soft hooting seemed to be lulling my into a very sweet sleep. Soon another dream haunted my mind.   
  
I was in a white dress again and my black hair was flowing at my waist. I was running up stairs and I seemed to be crying or was I laughing? I don't really remember. There was a blinding flash, and then I was in a room and on a desk I saw a very small note. The words seemed mixed up, jumbled almost, but one phrase stuck out. It was clearer then when the handsome man said Jump.   
  
The words said We will meet soon.   
  
Flash.   
  
Then I woke up.  
  
After this particular dream I was very dizzy. I tried to stand up, but my feet failed me and I tumbled to the ground. It took me a very long time to relise what happened.   
  
Toma walked over to me and nudged me up, he also helped me stand. It was somewhat awkward, standing, the entire time I was doing it I felt like I should be floating instead. Plus the owl was still at my sill, hooting, probablt laughing at me in Owlish.  
  
Nothing really to write.  
  
Yurgi has left again.  
  
NRTW.  
  
She looks like me.  
  
I can't seem to get over that one feeling. When I went to the Wolf Tower to see my enemy, that one image stuck. She looks almost exactly like me. Here are the differences:  
  
1. She has a tanner complextion, while I am as pale as the snow except for my cheeks which are a rose color.  
  
2. Her hair looks exactly the same, texture and body wise, only mine is to my waist and black, while her's is to her shoulders and chestnut colored.   
  
3. Her eyes. Her's are bright blue, like stars, and are honey colored like Twilight's.  
  
Her face. Our faces are the same. If I was to be tanner, had blue eyes, and shoulder length chestnut hair we would be twins.   
  
Almost, but that's impossible.  
  
I'm wrong, it must just have been the lighting outside.  
  
Yes. The lighting. She's much prettier, of course. She has Argul.  
  
Nothing has been happening at the tower lately.  
  
me Today I went around searching for my guard,(guard of the tower really) Ngarbo, around the tower. I explained where C, Y, and H were, and that he needed to bring back Y and H safely and quickly as possible. That was it. I went out to the stone opening on the seventh floor and watched him fly away.   
  
Yes, we fly.  
  
It has to do with the jewelry we wear. Mine is a necklace, and it is beautiful. It is absolutely the best in the entire tower, and I am usually humble. It is my prize possession.   
  
It was about a week before N returned. He brought Y and H with him. I was totally thrilled when Y and H told me about Claidi's struggles and how she was sent straight up to the palace. To Venarion.   
  
"Hopefully she will fall for him,"  
  
"I'm not sure, Miss, she seemed very keen to get married to that barbarian,"  
  
"Well, she seems like a bit of a tramp to me, Hrald, so I'm not worried,"  
  
"I thought she was quite all right," added Hrald.  
  
"Beautiful, if anything,"   
  



	4. The Pink Room

Chapter Four  
  
The Pink Room  
  
Today I was in for a real treat, that's what my maid had said. Her name was Kiara, and she is beautiful.   
  
In our tower slaves still counted for nothing, but they counted a bit more then they did at the house Mummy and Father were from. Kiara happened to be my best friend. Although many slaves never appealed to me as........people, Kiara struck me like a blow to the stomach. When I first saw her all I could think of was her beautiful hair. It was golden like the sun, and it gleamed with all it's beauty and majesty. Maids are made to wear their hair up, in a tight messy bun, but when Kiara was first introduced to me I asked her to let her locks down. The image still burns in my mind. Watching her hair fall from her skull was like watching a waterfall of gleaming sunlight tumble to a pool of gold. Her eyes were also something I had noticed right away. Green, but not just green. They were like pale emeralds lit by the light from her hair. She defined beauty to me.   
  
Anyway, I was sitting down at breakfast with Twilight and Fengrey, when Kiara rushed in and started whispering excitedly to me.   
  
"Your in for something today!" Kiara squeaked with joy (Kiara is respected enough by my parents that we are allowed to be best friends, I'm sure Fengrey had to force my mother to be kind).  
  
"Wh-what?!" I stuttered.  
  
"Come with me!"  
  
I said thank you to the servants and rushed off with Kiara to the balcony on the first floor. She went behind me and covered my eyes with her hands.   
  
"This must be good, I feel so childish." I laughed.  
  
"Oh shut up, Winter!"  
  
She pushed me to the wall and pushed my head over the edge. Then she quickly took her hands off of my eyes before I could struggle. I had the sick feeling that she was going to push me off.   
  
I scanned the land before us. The garden right below us, The North Garden, held what I was sure Kiara was squealing about. A man stood in the garden talking to the main gardener in a language I didn't understand. He was gorgeous. He had brown hair with these golden highlights that lit up in the sun. He reminded me of Argul, powerful and strong. His hair was different. Shorter. Also he had this smile that well, made you melt.   
  
Kiara squealed again.   
  
"Isn't he gorgeous?" she twittered.  
  
"Beautiful."  
  
"He's mine so no touchy!!"  
  
"Haha. Oh my, Kiara, I wouldn't be able to have him any way!!!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"He's a slave,"  
  
"That's never stopped you before!!" Kiara giggled.  
  
I stared at her doll-like face and gave her a nudge on the arm. We laughed out loud, and his head shot up at us. He smiled and gave us a wave. We curtsied and walked off the balcony laughing.  
  
"I'm serious, Ki, you have him."  
  
"Fine, but don't suddenly change you mind on me." (A word of the Raven Tower which means "agreed")  
  
Just then my mother's faithful servant, Reefa, walked over and told me that I was to go to the Pink Room. I said my good-byes to Kiara, and followed Reefa up to the third floor.   
  
The Pink Room is a large study. This is usually where servants teach other servants how to be servants. Yes, It's like a large classroom. I have passed it before when I was walking down to the stables, but never have I looked inside before. Nor have I ever gotten a chance to take in it's beauty. Usually servants just use it for lessons of any type. I couldn't figure out why I would have to be here.  
  
"Princess Star will be here shortly,"  
  
"Reefa, why am I here?"  
  
"To take lessons,"  
  
"From?" It's just like me to ask the least important question.  
  
"You shall see, your majesty."  
  



	5. Lessons

Chapter Five  
  
Lessons  
  
It was him.  
  
That was something I definitely didn't expect to say.  
  
As the man walked in surrounded by maids, I was just looking up from writing my last entry. I was trying to find and easy way to explain something when I saw him face. I snorted loudly when I saw him. He surprised me in every way.   
  
The man from the gardens walked in, his highlights dancing in his hair. I was thinking to myself, is there something wrong here? He couldn't be more than 19! He can't be my teacher.(?)  
  
I was now somewhat embarrassed, because of my snort and because of my childish performance on the balcony. I figured I would never see him again.   
  
"Kiara is going to throw me off that balcony for real this time," I muttered absentmindedly.  
  
"Pardon?" My mother and the man said in unison.  
  
"Oh! Nothing." Yes, stupid Winter at it again.  
  
My mother had then given me a very strange look as if to say, you've lost you mind. I quickly closed this book and threw it in the drawer of the desk I was writing on. Then, I crossed my legs in my white dress and faced him. I tried all I could to use all my pretend "properness" when talking, facing, or even thinking about him. Then I said, "My name is," as if I had not just made a fool of myself, "Win-,"  
  
"Claidis Star," my mother interrupted. My own mother cut me off.  
  
"Call me Winter," I said stiffly. My mother made that sound that parents make when you annoy them. It was like a 'puh'.  
  
He stared at us as if we were crazy, especially me.  
  
"I'm Mercuvio," A beautiful name for a beautiful man, I thought, "it's wonderful to finally meet you."  
  
"Mer-coo-vi-o?" I said. Always asking questions.  
  
"Haha," he laughed then smiled, " no no, Miss, it's pronounced more like Mar-cu-vi-o"  
  
"Oh."   
  
We stared at each other for a blissful moment. He has beautiful eyes, they're brown, but like a tunnel.   
  
Right then, my mother decided to butt in again.  
  
"Mercuvio will be teaching you how to control your necklace, and also to find it's hidden powers." she said.  
  
He looked away from me when she had said his name, but I continued to stare.  
  
"Yes." he replied  
  
"Yes." I repeated, but it's didn't sound like me at all.  
  
Toma walked in and looked over at Mercuvio. He raised his eyebrow, shook his head, and walked slowly over to me.  
  
Even though he's a doll he seems oddly realistic. Mummy says that he was Ustareth's last and greatest invention, before she died.  
  
"That's a very handsome panther you have there," said Mercuvio. He was obviously impressed.  
  
"His name is Toma. He is beautiful, isn't he?" I gooed.  
  
"Oh yes."  
  
"Well," Mother said even stiffer than before, "I'll be leaving you two.." Toma snorted. "Y-you three. Wonderful meeting you Mercuvio."  
  
"And you," he replied, but looking at me.  
  
"Well, then. Good-bye." Then, she left.  
  
"Lousy woman," That was Toma.  
  
When he spoke Mercuvio jumped about a foot into the air. Toma again raised his eyebrow.  
  
"Y-you can t-t-talk?"  
  
"Uh huh," Toma frowned. The he rubbed his body on my legs and left, "just thought I'd see what the fuss was about."  
  
Mercuvio's lessons were always fun to attend, because of the constant flirting me and him would share. After a minute or so he would look away from my eyes and continue his lesson. Apparently, my necklace has powers not only to cause me to fly, but to stop time, and to change my appearance at will. That was the one trait I was truly interested in. So far, me and Mercuvio have managed to change my hair color, but that's about it. I went from black to blonde. I said I thought I looked like Kiara. He didn't know who that was. Soon we change my hair back, and the lesson ended.  
  
"So he's like really nice and so cute,"  
  
"You said-"  
  
"And he has like the cutest name!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"I mean, Mercuvio, Mar-cu-vi-o!"  
  
"Winter-"  
  
"He's just so cute, like, altogether,"  
  
"WINTER!" Kiara screamed.  
  
"And-what?"  
  
"You said I could have him,"  
  
"And I mean it, I'm just saying what a good choice he is," Good save Winter!!!  
  
"Oh, so what's his name again?"  
  
"Mercuvio," I said, almost dreamily.   
  
I was smiling, but then I caught myself. 


End file.
